Girl's Club
by carbyfan
Summary: Hey guys, another update! Sorry it's taken so long! Anyway, here's chapter five of the Suby era! ;)
1. Pink Drinks

Title - Girl's Club Rating - PG-13 (I think) Summary - First rule of girl's club is, we don't talk about girl's club. Author's Notes - Love reviews, this is a new idea so bear with me! Disclaimer - You know it. I own them, always will. So John Wells, shove it up your ass!  
  
"First rule of girl's club is, we don't talk about girl's club." Abby - Walk Like a Man.  
  
Chapter One - Pink Drinks  
  
"Abby we need you!" Shouted Lewis down the hall as she ran back into the trauma room.  
  
She ran after Susan, dropping her current job of fixing a patient's IV and hurrying into trauma two.  
  
"What have we got?" She asked as she hurriedly put on a gown and gloves.  
  
"Three GSWs to the chest, 13 year old while female. Massive internal bleeding." Susan said as she finished her intubation. "Call the OR tell them to prep a room." She shouted as she moved round to the side of the patient and began listening for a heart beat.  
  
Abby called the OR as instructed then went back to Susan's aid.  
  
"Get me two litres of saline here, and I want that tox screen back!" She shouted as Abby rallied around getting together the IV tube.  
  
"Here Susan." She said as she held out the tube.  
  
"Thanks. Okay she's stable." She said after inserting the tube. "Let's move!"  
  
They pushed the girl out, leaving Susan and Abby in the trauma room surrounded by a bloody mess.  
  
"God my head hurts." Said Susan as she ripped off her gloves and threw them randomly on the floor.  
  
"Yours? I feel like someone's hit me round the head with a baseball bat." Replied Abby as she removed her gown and threw it in the waste bin.  
  
"I guess we shouldn't have moved onto that last bar. I was fine till you brought out those pink drinks! What were they again?!" She said laughing slightly as they walked out the trauma room towards the bathroom.  
  
"God knows. I remember it tasted nice, but then by the time we got the third round I couldn't really taste anything."  
  
"Who was that guy at the bar who bought us the second load of drinks? He tried to talk to me, but I have no idea what came out of my mouth at that point. I'm surprised I was even coherent."  
  
"You weren't hardly!" Abby said laughing. "You didn't know what he was asking?!" She said surprised as she laughed more.  
  
"No! I was trying to ask you but you were just laughing at me!" She said laughing harder.  
  
"Oh my God, he wanted to take you home with him! But you were just laughing in his face so he asked me if I'd ask you!" She said laughing more.  
  
"Really?" She asked surprised, but smiling still. "He was kinda cute though." She said as she sat down on the toilet.  
  
"You think? Well you should have told me! You could have been back at his place within minutes!" She said laughing.  
  
They came out the toilet and went to the sink to wash their hands.  
  
"God I wish I hadn't of been so drunk. The night could have been even better." Susan said winking.  
  
"Yeah and what would I have done?!" Said Abby laughing.  
  
"Watched." Susan said before she burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh of course." Replied Abby as she threw a towel in the bin and laughed. "Gone home to Carter probably."  
  
"Does he know about last night?"  
  
"No! I mean not that it would hurt him to know, I wasn't the one putting twenty bucks in a strippers thong." She said laughing again.  
  
"Come on you were SO tempted!" She replied as she elbowed her lightly in the side.  
  
"Yeah but I didn't. I have willpower."  
  
"And a boyfriend. You have a reason not to; I on the other hand, have not got a boyfriend so I can do what I like." She said, stating the obvious, but it was still a valid point.  
  
"True. Although it wouldn't have hurt to have a bit of fun. Carter knows what we do is mostly harmless." She said as they left the bathroom and headed to the admit desk.  
  
"Morning." Carter said as they approached him at the desk.  
  
"Good morning." Replied Abby smiling at Susan.  
  
"Hey Carter." Said Susan, trying not laugh. "I'm in need of a coffee." Susan said as she left them at the desk and headed to the lounge.  
  
"Break in 15 minutes Susan!" Shouted Abby at the retreating figure.  
  
"Got it!" Susan replied as she headed into the lounge.  
  
"So." Said Carter creeping behind Abby. "What did you guys get up to last night in your girl's club?"  
  
"First rule of girl's club is, we don't talk about girl's club." Replied Abby seriously as she looked on the computer screen.  
  
"You're not gonna tell me anything?!" He asked slightly put off.  
  
"Nope. I told you, what we do is secret and will remain secret to the day we die."  
  
"I'll ask Susan then." He said, proud of himself that he'd be sneaky and find out.  
  
"She'll say the same. It's like an unspoken rule."  
  
"You girls really know how to put a man down don't you?!" He said smiling at her.  
  
"I wouldn't expect you to tell me about your wild nights with Luka!" She said laughing slightly.  
  
"Well there wouldn't be anything to tell there seeing as Luka and I don't speak!" He said smiling as he began searching through the charts.  
  
"Hypothetically if you did, then you wouldn't tell me." Said Abby, still concentrating on the screen.  
  
Carter laughed. "So, when's the next girl's night out?"  
  
"No idea. I don't think it'll be for a few days, Susan's hangover is pretty bad today." Abby said bluntly.  
  
"And yours?" He asked.  
  
"My what?" She said looking up, and then looking back at the screen. "I didn't drink last night."  
  
She cringed at herself for lying, but she knew he would go mad, and it wasn't like she was drinking because she was depressed, she just wanted to have fun with her girlfriends. Deb and Susan had started drinking before they left, but Abby held out till about midnight when the proposal of a drink came every few minutes from either Susan or Deb, she decided she couldn't say no anymore.  
  
"You didn't?" He asked in a low tone.  
  
"No. You don't believe me?" She asked, pretending to be slightly pissed off.  
  
"Yeah I do." He said smiling. "Glad you had a good night." He said as he found the chart he'd been looking for. "You fancy dinner tonight?" He asked her quickly.  
  
"Sure. I'm off at 7."  
  
"Great. See you later." He said kissing her head then walking away to treat his patient.  
  
She sighed, she hated lying to him but what else could she do? Not drink would be a good start Abby. She cursed herself for drinking, it was so hard to say no when your friends are having such a good time. It's difficult being the boring one. So she accepted a drink. Then another one. And after a while she lost track. It was weird, when she was out drinking with people, she didn't feel like it was bad. It was the whole drinking alone thing that made her feel guilty. She wondered if it was alright really to drink just in social situations. Her thoughts were interrupted by Susan talking to her.  
  
"What?" She said snapping out of her trance.  
  
"I said we can go on our break now."  
  
"Oh sure." She said dropping her hands to her sides and following Susan out to the ambulance bay.  
  
They walked over to Doc's, Susan chatting about something, Abby silent, the occasional 'yes' or 'I don't know'. They sat in a booth and Susan began looking over the menu, and looked up to see Abby looking out the window at nothing.  
  
"You okay?" Susan asked, concerned a little at Abby's sudden change of mood.  
  
"Huh?" She said looking at Susan suddenly and then realising she was concerned. "Sure." She said replying then looking away again.  
  
"Come on Abby. You were fine a minute ago, I go away and come back after Carter's spoken to you and you're all quiet." She said still looking concerned. "What did he say?"  
  
Abby looked at Susan then looked away again, she wanted so badly to tell Susan the problem, but she just couldn't. She knew they were friends, and she knew Susan was trustworthy. In fact, she was the most trustworthy person Abby had ever met, and she didn't feel like Susan ever wanted anything in return for a shoulder to cry on.  
  
"It's nothing.it's just. God it's so complicated." Abby said finally, sighing as she grabbed the menu and began looking over it, immediately searching for the coffee listings.  
  
"Come on Abby, I know you well enough now to know when something's up." She said smiling comfortingly as she squeezed Abby's hand slightly.  
  
Abby looked at Susan and saw she was sincere, how could she even doubt her anyway?  
  
"Carter asked me if I drank last night." She said solemnly.  
  
"So?"  
  
"I told him I didn't." Abby said sighing.  
  
"Why?" Susan asked confused.  
  
"I'm an alcoholic Susan." She said bluntly. "Correction, I'm a recovering alcoholic. Well supposedly." She added, slightly embarrassed she had to let Susan know like this.  
  
Susan didn't know what to say, it was kind of hard to take in, especially when she quickly reminded herself it was her who kept pressurising Abby into having a drink anyway. She had been so stubborn all night, refusing a drink, she just figured Abby was being boring.  
  
"I'm sorry. It never crossed my mind that you." She cut short and just looked at the table. "You should have told me sooner. I wouldn't have kept asking you to drink if I'd known."  
  
"You weren't to know. Don't blame yourself for what happened, but I felt you should know. I think it's going to be a problem if Carter keeps pestering me to tell him about what we get up to."  
  
"Well you know the rules. We don't talk about girl's club to anyone, especially not the boyfriend!" She joked as she forced a smile.  
  
"I should have told you sooner, but it's not really the sort of thing you want to bring up you know?"  
  
"Of course. I'm glad you did though. Who else knows?" Susan asked.  
  
"Just you, Carter and Luka. Luka found out by mistake though. But neither of them will tell anybody."  
  
"Yeah. You don't need to ask, it's safe with me."  
  
"Thanks." Abby said smiling.  
  
"Well, serious chat over. But before I order a huge lunch, I think you have to tell Carter about last night."  
  
"I thought we didn't talk about girl's club?!" Abby said mocking her slightly.  
  
"Not about the actual EVENTS, just that you did drink. It's not fair to him that you're lying."  
  
"I know. But he gets so weird when he knows I've been drinking."  
  
"That's because he cares about you. I'd get like that too if I found out you'd lied about it."  
  
"Yeah. I'll tell him tonight." Abby said sighing. "But it means that when we go out again he'll ask you if I've been drinking, he probably won't like it when we do go out you know."  
  
"Well he can't run your life Abby. But he can give you advice and he can show that he cares. Give him a chance, he may surprise you."  
  
"I know what'll cheer you up till then."  
  
"Go on." Abby said smiling.  
  
"I've got another blind date tonight."  
  
"Oh God! Did you learn nothing from the last one?!"  
  
"I know. You'd figure wouldn't you? My friend said he was cute, he's a lawyer from Pennsylvania."  
  
"Wow. Just make sure he has all the normal eating habits. No vegans, or vegetarians."  
  
"Or fruitarians." Susan added laughing.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"They don't eat anything that's not fallen from the tree. They think cooking stuff is killing them. Like carrots and stuff. Very weird."  
  
"I'll say. Have you ever met one?!"  
  
"Of course! That's how I know! We met at this 'save the trees' thing when I was in high school."  
  
"Can I ask why you were at a save the trees rally?!" Abby asked laughing.  
  
"I was young! And plus I was after this really cute guy who was into all that stuff."  
  
"So what happened to him?"  
  
"He made out with my best friend." She said bluntly.  
  
"Oh God!" Abby said laughing. "So you got left with the fruitarian freak?!"  
  
"Pretty much. Him and his bongos."  
  
"Oh my God!" She said, trying to stop laughing but failing miserably.  
  
"Oh come on it's not that bad!"  
  
"Well it's pretty bad. I'm sure I've had worse."  
  
"Really? I doubt it. I once had a date with a guy who turned out to be a woman. That was pretty weird." Susan said smiling then called the waitress over.  
  
"Okay now I've heard it all!" Abby said still laughing.  
  
"Hi. Can I get two cheeseburgers, two French fries and two coffees please." She said to the waitress, who turned to leave. "Where are you going?" Susan asked the waitress who turned to them and looked confused. "What do you want Abby?" 


	2. Date With The Devil

Okay so it didn't take me as long to update. I'll do this from time to time. Update really quickly then not update for AGES. So enjoy it while it lasts! And please review! There's a major shortage!  
  
P.S. Thanks to those guys who have already, really appreciated.  
  
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Chapter Two - Date with the Devil  
  
That night, Carter busied himself in the kitchen, cooking chicken and singing along to the Rolling Stones as he flung a tea towel over his shoulder. Abby hadn't arrived yet, and it was just gone 8. He was about to take out the chicken when the front door opened and Abby walked in, looking pretty tired, but still pretty hot.  
  
"Good evening." Carter said as he walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Hey." She said simply as she removed her coat and flung it on the sofa. "We need to talk." She said quickly before he could say another word.  
  
"Uh.okay." He said, looking a little worried as they walked to the table and sat down.  
  
"I lied to you earlier when I said I didn't drink. I did. Actually I got completely plastered. And I'm sorry for lying to you about it, but I panicked and I didn't know how you'd react so I said I didn't so I could decide how to tell you later."  
  
He listened intently to her, not missing a word. He felt slightly disappointed, not in her, just that she felt she couldn't tell him.  
  
"So I'm sorry. Susan persuaded me to tell you. She didn't know about me last night, but I felt awful that I'd lied to you so I told her and she told me to be honest."  
  
He was silent again, not knowing what to say. To say he was upset would be true, but he wasn't going to go mad at her for doing it.  
  
"Well I'm glad you told me." He said simply. "Susan was right." He added before getting up and walking to the kitchen.  
  
"That's it?" She asked surprised.  
  
"What do you want me to say?"  
  
"I don't know! Aren't you gonna yell at me or something?!"  
  
"What would we gain from that? I'm glad you told me Abby, but I don't know what you want me to say. I'm disappointed you lied to me and that you felt you couldn't tell me, but I'm not mad."  
  
"You're not?"  
  
"No. I'm glad you told Susan."  
  
"You are?"  
  
"Isn't it good she knows now? So next time you guys go out she can help you instead of forcing drinks down your throat."  
  
"It wasn't like that. She kept offering drinks because I was being boring and having a coke."  
  
"Honestly Abby, I'm glad you told me, I'm glad you told her."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Good."  
  
And that was that. Abby sighed and lent back on the chair. He was a touch guy to figure out sometimes. But she guessed sometimes, there are just some things that are better left unsaid. She figured this was one of those times, although she hated it, she would have to accept the fact that he had nothing to say.  
  
"What's for dinner?" She asked as she flicked through the channels later on in the night.  
  
"Uh.well it was going to be chicken. But that fell through." He said as he pulled out a burnt chicken from the oven.  
  
Abby laughed and got up to walk over to him.  
  
"So I guess it's take out?!" She said amused.  
  
"Makes a change huh?" He said sarcastically. "I'll order it now."  
  
He ordered the food whilst Abby threw away the remains of chicken that was now charcoal coloured and giving off a strange smell.  
  
"All done." Carter said as he hung up the phone and plonked himself down on the sofa next to where Abby had just relieved herself onto.  
  
"How long will it be?"  
  
"Half an hour. You sure you can hold out that long?!"  
  
"I'll try." She said smiling. "Ooh that reminds me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Susan. She had a date tonight."  
  
"With who?"  
  
"Some guy from Pennsylvania."  
  
He looked at her strangely.  
  
"Some guy?"  
  
"He's a lawyer apparently. Big money."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Probably find out he's in league with the devil or something."  
  
"Knowing her."  
  
"You think I should call her?" Abby asked.  
  
"Depends. What's the time?"  
  
"Half nine."  
  
"Leave it till later. No doubt she'll call you."  
  
"Probably. If she's really desperate she'll do the code call."  
  
"Which is.?" He asked confused.  
  
"She calls my cell twice if she wants me to call and bail her out."  
  
"Clever. I like it."  
  
"I thought so."  
  
"Has she ever used it?"  
  
"Three times already. I'm beginning to think she's undateable. Either that or she just doesn't like men."  
  
"I doubt it's either. I enjoyed dating her." He said simply as he watched the TV.  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Well I mean she was good fun. She's not high maintenance like some women. I don't know why she's still single to be honest."  
  
"But you're not with her now?"  
  
"Yeah cos I was already in love with you."  
  
Abby was silent. She smiled to herself then looked at the TV.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Why the silence?"  
  
"No reason."  
  
"I used to really like Susan, when I was a med student. Then she left, I forgot about her. She came back and I think I just thought those old feelings were still there. But they weren't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Not sure really. She was still the same person. I think it was mainly because I was interested in you, and it's hard to like someone so much when you like somebody else. And plus, she was still in love with that guy she met in Phoenix."  
  
"Charlie?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Did she ever tell you about him?"  
  
"Nope. Nobody knows."  
  
"I'll have to ask her. I'm curious."  
  
"I think he's the one person she never talks about."  
  
"You think she's still hung up on him?"  
  
"Most likely. When Susan falls for someone she falls big time."  
  
"I noticed."  
  
"She didn't fall for me. I think I was just something to get her mind off him."  
  
"Did it work?"  
  
"For a while I guess. But then she dumped me."  
  
"She dumped you?!"  
  
He looked at her smiling slightly then looked away.  
  
"I thought you dumped her."  
  
"No. She broke up with me after that sexual harassment seminar."  
  
"Why?" She asked, genuinely interested.  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"Not really but I wanna know anyway." She said amused.  
  
"Fine fine. She asked me to kiss her, so I did. Then she asked if I'd felt anything."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"It was nice."  
  
"And what did she say?"  
  
"Me neither."  
  
There was silence for a while as Abby looked thoughtful. Then suddenly a smile spread across her face.  
  
"Didn't she kiss you earlier and you weren't expecting it?" He looked confused. "When you and Luka had just had a dual."  
  
"Uh.yeah."  
  
"Did she say why?"  
  
"She said just checking."  
  
"For what?" Abby asked smiling.  
  
"Second date rule."  
  
"Oh my God really?!" She said laughing.  
  
"Yeah why? I never got it."  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's mine and Susan's thing."  
  
"Right." He said confused.  
  
"So what happened after she said she didn't feel anything?"  
  
"She said to tell you I was, and I quote, 'hopelessly in love with you and can't live another moment without you.'"  
  
"She said that?!"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"That was nice." She said simply then turned her attentions back to the TV.  
  
"She's a nice person."  
  
"Yeah." She said, still not taking her eyes off the TV.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. I just wonder sometimes why she's so nice."  
  
"Well because that's the way she is I guess."  
  
"Don't you think it's kinda sad that all she ever does is look out for other people? I mean who looks out for her?" Abby asked, slightly upset all of a sudden that nobody looks after Susan.  
  
"Don't beat yourself up about it. She's got a lot of friends." He said comfortingly.  
  
She looked down and turned off the TV, slamming the remote down on the sofa. "Sometimes friends aren't enough." She said quietly before getting up and walking to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So you actually FLY the planes then?" Susan said exasperatingly.  
  
"Well yes. It's quite a skill really. There's a certain knack to flying remote control planes."  
  
"I can imagine." She said dryly as she took another huge sip of her cocktail.  
  
"Fourteen years and counting." He said proudly as he took a sip of his water.  
  
"Really? Wow that's pretty impressive." She said, turning around to look at her surroundings as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"We have these meetings once a year. Well it's more like a convention. We all go and show off our planes that we've all made by hand."  
  
"Sounds exciting." She replied, forcing a smile.  
  
"Oh it is! You should come along to the next one. It's in a couple of weeks, at the Chivorgon Hotel. Just a few miles from here. The 25th if I recall correctly." He said, pulling out his organiser and began searching through it.  
  
"Sounds great, but I think I'm busy on that day, I have a medical conference to go to."  
  
"Oh. That's a shame. We would have had a blast." He said smiling. "Can I get another water please?" He asked the bartender who was standing a little further away from them.  
  
"Could you just wait there? I'll be right back." She said smiling as she got up and went to the bathroom. "Jesus, this has to be up there in my top three worst dates." She said sighing to herself as she fumbled around for the phone in her bag.  
  
She began dialling a number and waited for a reply on the other end.  
  
"Come on Abby pick up." She said to herself, jumping up and down slightly, worrying about the idea of having to spend the rest of the night with the most boring man in the world.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hello?" Abby said as she grabbed her cell off the nightstand.  
  
"Code red. Get me out ASAP!" Susan shouted down the phone.  
  
"Oh God what's wrong?" Abby said, slightly amused.  
  
"Well, let's put it into perspective shall we? He's spent the whole night talking about remote control planes that he makes and then flies in his spare time, and so far he's asked me what hospital I work at."  
  
"That's all?!" Abby said laughing.  
  
"Yes! I really need to get out of here! He's inviting me to a plane convention or something!" She exclaimed, trying not to laugh at the situation.  
  
"Oh my God!" Replied Abby, still laughing. "I'll call you back in a sec okay?"  
  
"Thank you!" Susan said highly as she hung up.  
  
She put her phone back into her bag and briskly walked out the bathroom to join Mr Excitement again.  
  
"Sorry about that."  
  
"Not a problem. So where was I?" He asked quizzically.  
  
"Uh.something about a convention." She replied unenthusiastically.  
  
"Oh yes that's right. Well it's really quite interesting. You see.." He was interrupted by Susan's phone.  
  
"Sorry hang on a second." She said apologetically as she fumbled in her bag for her phone. "Hello? What? Oh God really? Okay I'll be right there. Bye." Susan hung up and put on her most worried face.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked concerned.  
  
"My Dad's escaped again." She said seriously.  
  
"Escaped?" He asked surprised.  
  
"Yeah. He's in the mental institute up on fourth. He can be hard to take but once you get to know him, it doesn't seem so weird when he urinates on you to say hello." She said dryly, trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"What?! He.urinates on you?"  
  
"Yeah. It's really not a big deal. But he thinks he's a werewolf so he'll be in the park howling all night unless I go find him."  
  
"You better go then." He said sorrowfully, but still slightly scared.  
  
"Yeah. It was nice." She said before getting up and walking away.  
  
"I'll call you!" He shouted.  
  
And she left. Safely away. She walked to Abby's afterwards, feeling relieved she'd been bailed out by her once again after a depressing and unsuccessful date. There had to be somebody out there for her, hadn't there? 


	3. Magic Man

*Okay so it's taken a while. But today I was doing a whole load of nothing so I figured I'd update. Loving all the reviews, thanks for all the support, this fic has gone down better than I'd expected! Keep them coming!*  
  
Chapter Three - Magic Man  
  
Susan approached Abby's apartment building, sighing as she went along the freezing street. She never knew why these dates she went on never came to anything. Maybe she was just incompatible with every man on this planet. She thought briefly about becoming a lesbian and starting a march against all men, but then she remembered that the idea of kissing another woman freaked her out. She smiled to herself, she had the weirdest thoughts sometimes. She pressed the buzzer and waited patiently to be buzzed up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Come on up." Abby said, letting her in.  
  
Susan walked in quickly, just about to close the door when she heard a voice behind her.  
  
"Susan!" Said the voice.  
  
She recognised it immediately. She turned around to see him. Standing right in front of her, clear as day. But he looked different. More handsome, but different. A million thoughts were flying around her mind as she looked at him, as she watched him approach her. She froze as he became closer and closer, not wanting to move inside, but not wanting to move outside to him. She didn't have to anyway, he moved inside and closed the door behind him.  
  
"It's been a while." He said quietly.  
  
"Yeah. So it has." She replied, her face still a straight picture, no expression whatsoever.  
  
"How have you been?"  
  
"Good. Great actually." She said, lying.  
  
"Good."  
  
"And yourself?" She asked, not really interested.  
  
"Not so good." He replied sighing. "Laura and I broke up."  
  
"You expect sympathy?" She asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"No, of course not. But I realised something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That I wasn't meant to be with her."  
  
"Good for you. Now I gotta go." She said turning to walk away.  
  
"Wait." He said reaching out for her arm.  
  
He pulled her arm back and she looked down at his hand on her elbow, then looked up into his eyes. Another one of those moment shared, she couldn't face him hurting her again, she knew that for certain.  
  
"What do you want Charlie?"  
  
"I want you." He said simply.  
  
"You had me." She said quickly.  
  
"I was a fool Susan. I didn't realise what I had till you were gone."  
  
There was a silence, but she knew it was wrong for them to be together now. So wrong. She shook her head and pulled her arm out of his hand.  
  
"It's over now. You had me, and you let me go." She said sadly before walking away.  
  
"Don't go. Please!" He called up the stairs.  
  
Susan ignored it and carried on up the stairs, thankfully seeing Abby standing at the top.  
  
"Who's that guy?" Abby asked concerned.  
  
"Charlie." She said, holding back the tears as she walked past Abby and into her apartment.  
  
Abby stood in the hallway wondering whether to go talk to him, or go in after Susan. She could still hear him shouting for her to come back, and she knew the neighbours would get mad if he didn't shut up. Seconds later, Abby's front door opened again, and Carter walked out looking worried.  
  
"What's goin' on?" He asked concerned.  
  
"Ssshhh." She whispered as she leaned over the banisters. "Could you get out!" Abby shouted down the stairs.  
  
Then there was silence. She heard footsteps. Then the door open, and then close. He was gone.  
  
Abby sighed, remembering hearing footsteps like those a while ago. She shivered as she remembered him, the harsh sound it made when the door was forced open and the chain broke. She shook her head, relieving her mind of her thoughts of Brian and the attack and walked inside.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Susan?" Abby said quietly as she knocked on the bathroom door.  
  
"It's open." Susan replied in a muffled voice.  
  
"I'm guessing that was Dix." Abby said softly as she walked into the bathroom where Susan was sitting leaning against the bath.  
  
"The very one." Susan said sighing.  
  
"Why was he here?"  
  
"Who?" Susan asked, avoiding the subject.  
  
Abby sighed and sat down next to her on the floor.  
  
"You know, people like that aren't worth getting upset over." She said trying to comfort Susan.  
  
"I know."  
  
"What did he want?"  
  
"God only knows." She said holding back more tears.  
  
"Well what did he say?"  
  
"That he wanted me back. And he was a fool to let me go. All that crap."  
  
"You believe him?"  
  
"No." She said sighing. "Well, I don't know. Maybe." She said struggling. "It's." She started but then stopped.  
  
"What?" Abby asked.  
  
"It's kind of.it's complicated. He was my magic man. I was his cowgirl. That's the way it always was." She said sighing, smiling slightly at remembering her name for him. "And now, well I don't even know anymore." She said sighing again.  
  
"Magic man? That's cute." Abby said, trying to ease the tension.  
  
"Yeah. He made everything like magic. So I called him my magic man. It was a stupid thing we did." She said mocking herself.  
  
"That's not stupid." Abby said reassuringly. She paused for a while and there was silence, then Abby asked, "Do you still love him?"  
  
Silence. Abby looked at Susan and saw a single tear run down her cheek. She reached over and wiped it away with her thumb and wiped it on her top. Susan looked up and saw Abby looking at her worriedly. Susan looked away, up at the ceiling, then back down to her knees that were pulled up to her chest as she hugged them tightly. Then came another tear.  
  
"Susan?" Abby asked again.  
  
That was it. Susan started to cry, she did love him. She nodded her head as the tears came, and all Abby could do was sit and watch. There was silence in the room apart from the occasional sniff of Susan. Abby felt helpless. She was helpless. It hurt her to see Susan like this, but there wasn't a cure. All she could do now was be there for her. Susan began sliding sideways to lean on Abby. She realised Susan needing comforting and lifted her arm up as Susan leaned in to Abby's shoulder and cried. Abby put her arm around Susan and just sat hugging her. No words were spoken. There was nothing to say. And then, there was silence once more, but still the occasional sobs.  
  
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay. I promise." Abby whispered to Susan as the tears still freely fell.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Abby hated this. She was powerless. Like she always was in life. But this time, it wasn't her problem. It was her best friends. And she could do what? Nothing. Once again. Nothing. They sat in the bathroom for a couple of hours, till Abby's shirt was soaked through with tears. She had never seen someone cry this much, especially over a guy. Only it was usually a guy that was the problem anyway. She felt awful. Terrible even. Susan just wouldn't stop crying, and it was scary cos she was usually the one who was strong, who didn't cry in front of people, who didn't need help and who didn't need a shoulder to cry on. But she did now. Abby wasn't going to ignore it just because it wasn't normal for Susan be upset, if anything she was going to be there for her more because it was such a big deal. She sat with her arm round her, stroking her head softly as she whispered everything was going to be alright occasionally.  
  
Time passed slowly when somebody cried, it seemed the world stood still just so that she could cry. Susan hated this, this feeling of emptiness and not knowing what to do about it. She felt bad for leaning on Abby to support her, emotionally and physically, but there was nothing else she could do. She hadn't cried over Dix since she left Phoenix, but now he'd come back, all those old feelings had made an appearance and she was powerless to stop it. She knew she still loved him, more than anything in the world, but it wasn't right anymore. She knew that too.  
  
She started remembering the times they had spent together, the happy times, the sad times, the times where she didn't want to be with anybody else other than him. But then she reminded herself, these weren't the times she should be grateful for. The way he hurt her when he left cancelled out all those times, so what was left was her. A broken shell of a woman left to pick up the pieces. That's the way it always had been though, she was always left to pick up the pieces. With Chloe, with Susie, with Dix. There wasn't one relationship she had ended or one part of her life that was really going great, or that had finished on good terms. Apart from Carter and Abby. She had ended things with him on a good note, and she didn't want anything more from him. And Abby. They had become so close, and she knew without a doubt Abby was her best friend. She could rely on her, with anything. This was proving that right now. But she felt guilty for relying on her too much.  
  
"I'm sorry." Susan said silently as she slowly moved back to her original spot. "I shouldn't be putting all this on you. God knows you have enough problems." Susan said sighing.  
  
"I don't care. I'm here because I want to be." Abby replied sincerely. "Can I get you anything?"  
  
"I would say something strong and alcoholic but I don't think that's the best thing right now."  
  
"I think you need a cup of hot chocolate, and some munch." Abby said smiling.  
  
"Sounds pretty good to me."  
  
"I'll go set it up, stay here and cool off. Wash your face or something. You can take a bath if you wanna relax?" She said as she got up and held her hands out to help Susan up.  
  
"A bath sounds perfect actually, thanks Abby." Susan said taking Abby's hands and hoisting herself up.  
  
"All part of the service. I'll go get you a towel." She said as she left the room.  
  
"Abby?" Susan called.  
  
Abby turned around as she reached the doorway and turned around to see Susan standing by the sink. "Yeah?" She said.  
  
"Thank you. For being here." Susan said sincerely.  
  
Abby smiled and walked over to Susan, giving her a big hug and rubbing her back as she did so.  
  
"Anytime." Abby said smiling as she leaned back from the hug and walked out, leaving Susan to start running her bath.  
  
Abby soon returned with a towel and a cup of hot chocolate. "Take as long as you need." Abby said as she left the room and closed the door behind her.  
  
She was alone now. Left to think, wonder about what could have been, what would have been if she'd only taken him back. She came to the conclusion that she didn't need Dix, she never had. He was someone she needed at the time, but she wasn't alone anymore. She had Abby, she had Carter, she even had support from Luka. Being alone wasn't all bad, she had these funny blind dates she'd gone on, like tonight's episode. She would never forget it, and she chuckled to herself every time she thought about it and what she did to get out of it. Times like these were the ones she would always be thankful for, and she glad that she remembered the good times as well as the bad. And this was a good time, lying in a hot bath, with bubbles, relaxing music, candles, and a hot chocolate. It couldn't get any better. 


	4. Always In Disguise

Chapter Four - Always in Disguise  
  
The phone rang throughout the apartment, but nobody stirred. It carried on ringing, but still nobody stirred. Then it stopped.  
  
'Hi it's Susan, I'm here but I'm not answering the phone. Leave a message.' Beep.  
  
"Hi Susan? It's Alex. You know the guy from the park? Uh.I hope you don't mind me calling. Just rang to make sure you found your Father alright, sounded pretty concerning. Call me back if you get the chance. My number's 555-3485. Speak to you.whenever. Bye."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
An hour later, Susan got out of the bath slowly and wrapped herself in the towel Abby had given her. She felt more refreshed now, after a pretty long night. First, the date with the devil, then Charlie. She couldn't believe he had the cheek to just show up like that, but he did, and now he was gone again. She sighed as she brushed her wet hair in the mirror and looked at her appearance. No wonder I can't find a nice guy when I look like that. She thought to herself as she put the hairbrush down and tidied up the bathroom before walking out to find the other two. She walked out down the hall to find them both sitting at the table talking over a pot of tea.  
  
"That's very English of you." Susan said smirking at the pair.  
  
"Nice to see your sense of humour is back!" Abby said smiling.  
  
"Oh it's never gone for long." Susan said sarcastically as she sat down at the table with them both.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Carter asked concerned.  
  
"I'm okay. I always am remember?" She replied smiling.  
  
Carter sighed and gave Abby a look as if to say 'she's not alright'. Abby nodded and poured a cup of tea for Susan.  
  
"I'm going to bed." Carter declared.  
  
"Now? It's only half ten." Abby said.  
  
"I've got an early shift." Carter said. "I'll see you both at work." He said as he leaned down and kissed Abby.  
  
"I'm not on tomorrow remember?" Abby said as he kissed her head.  
  
"You're not?" He asked surprised.  
  
"Me neither." Susan said smiling.  
  
"Oh great!" He said sighing. "That's gonna be a load of fun." He said slightly peeved.  
  
"Aww you're gonna miss us!" Abby said smiling at him.  
  
"Of course. We're like the three musketeers." He said smiling.  
  
"Yeah, or the prison officer and his bitches." Susan said smirking as she took a sip of tea.  
  
"Exactly." He agreed as Abby laughed. "Okay. Well enjoy your day off while I work a double!" He said sarcastically as he walked to the bedroom and closed the door.  
  
"He's working a double?" Susan asked surprised.  
  
"Yeah. Weaver's been working him pretty hard lately." She said sipping more tea.  
  
"I heard they're looking for a new Attending. That's probably why."  
  
"They are?" Abby asked as Susan nodded in response. "You know what that means?" She said slyly.  
  
"Chief Resident's position will be empty." Susan said dryly.  
  
"You want it?"  
  
"I don't know. I won't get it." Susan said doubtfully.  
  
"Of course you will. They offered it to you before you left a few years ago didn't they?" She said.  
  
"Yeah but that was a long time ago."  
  
"Yeah which means you'll be a better doctor now." Abby said convincingly.  
  
"I guess. It's hard work though."  
  
"When isn't it? I think you'd be great." Abby said smiling.  
  
"Maybe. I'll see what happens. I may decide to run off into the sunset with Alex." She said laughing.  
  
"Alex?"  
  
"He was the blind date tonight."  
  
"Ahhh." Abby said smirking.  
  
"Man that was bad. I hope he doesn't call me." She said sighing. "No doubt he will. It's just the way isn't it? The ones you don't like, call you, and the ones you do, never call."  
  
"Of course. But you only need one of them to be 'the one' and you'll know it's right cos they will call you back, and it'll be the one you like."  
  
"So when's he calling then?" Susan said smiling.  
  
"Don't ask." Abby said laughing. "Oh, I forgot to ask, did Luka talk to you?" Susan frowned, looking confused. "He didn't?" Abby asked surprised.  
  
"No. Why would he?" Susan asked.  
  
"He said he was gonna call you. Never mind." Abby said getting up.  
  
"Why would he call me? I never call him. Not out of choice but I never do. Why would he wanna call me?" Susan asked, intrigued at this.  
  
Abby turned around from the sink and looked at Susan, getting all worked up just cos Luka might have called her.  
  
"Wait a second." Abby said smiling as she walked over to the table again. "You like him." She declared smirking.  
  
"I do not!" Susan argued badly.  
  
"Oh my God!" Abby exclaimed. "This is SO great! We can go on double dates and stuff!" Abby said excitedly.  
  
"Abby we don't even know he likes me yet!" Susan said embarrassed.  
  
"Oh so you DO like him?!" Abby said smiling.  
  
"What?! When did I say that?"  
  
"Well you were concerned if he liked you, and you didn't deny liking him."  
  
"I did."  
  
"Not very well!" She replied laughing.  
  
"Well yeah I do like him, he's a nice guy, but as a friend." She argued badly again.  
  
"As a friend my ass." Abby said chuckling. "I've seen the way you look at each other." She said mocking Susan.  
  
"How do we look at each other?!" Susan said trying not to smile.  
  
"Like this." Abby said smirking as she fluttered her eyelids. "Oh Luka..." She said taking the piss out of Susan.  
  
"Hey! Since when did I deserve this?!" Susan said laughing now.  
  
"Since you admitted to liking Luka!"  
  
"I never admitted it." Susan said.  
  
"But you do." Abby said quickly as she sat down smiling.  
  
Susan ignored her and got up to clean her cup.  
  
"I don't wish to discuss this anymore with you Miss Lockhart." Susan said smirking as her back was turned to Abby.  
  
"Fine. But just in case you wanted to know.." Abby said slyly to get Susan's attention.  
  
"What?" She asked turning around.  
  
"..he thinks you're hot."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Luka! Two traumas coming in we need you!" Susan shouted at the Croatian doctor.  
  
She hurried past him towards the ambulance bay, grabbing a gown on her way out and one for Luka that she threw at him as he swiftly followed. She smiled as he caught it badly and sighed.  
  
"I was always a bad catcher." He said embarrassed as he followed her outside.  
  
"Me too. I was always too busy talking or trying to do up my shoelace." She said sarcastically.  
  
He laughed and watched as she flicked her hair out of the back of her gown and sighed.  
  
"You had laces? I always had the Velcro." He said smiling.  
  
"Yeah. My Mom wouldn't let me get Velcro. She said I'd never learn how to tie laces unless I practiced."  
  
"Did you ever learn?"  
  
"Kind of. But I always wear slip ons." She said smiling and he chuckled. "Can you tie this up?" She asked as she struggled with her gown.  
  
"Oh. Yeah." He said quickly as he walked behind her and began tying her gown up. "So you had a blind date last night?"  
  
"God does everybody know about that?!" She said exasperated.  
  
"Uh..touchy subject?" He asked embarrassed.  
  
"Let's just say, I discovered a new meaning to the word boring." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry." He said trying to stop from smiling.  
  
"Not your fault. I don't there's anything anybody can do about my dates." She said sadly. "They are always the same."  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked interested.  
  
"They always go bad. The guy is always a freak, or hung up on his ex. One of the two."  
  
"That's a shame." He said sadly watching her from the corner of his eye. "What if you found someone who wasn't either?" He said interested again.  
  
"Show me the way and I'll let you know!" She said sarcastically.  
  
"Would you have dinner with me tonight?"  
  
Susan looked over at him immediately shocked, and saw him looking at her with a serious face. He did surprise her to say the least, but she guessed the right guy was always in disguise.  
  
"Sure." She simply replied, and then came the paramedics. 


	5. Orchid Nights

Chapter Five - Orchid Nights  
  
Susan wandered through the doors of the Blue Orchid removing her scarf from around her neck as she searched the crowds of people for Luka. She gave her coat in as she spotted him sitting at the bar next to an empty stool.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" She asked smiling as he turned around and saw her.  
  
"Nice of you to come." He replied.  
  
"Sorry a trauma came in just as I was leaving." She said apologetically as she sat down.  
  
"It's alright. Glad you came." He said smiling at her. "What are you having?"  
  
"I'll have.." She said looking over the cocktail menu. "A margarita please." She said finally.  
  
"Margarita it is." He said as he ordered the drink and waited for it to be served.  
  
"So how was your day?"  
  
"Long. Yours?"  
  
"Same." She replied smiling.  
  
"That's five dollars fifty." Said the bartender as he placed the drink in front of Susan.  
  
"Keep the change." Luka said as he handed him a ten dollar bill."  
  
"Thanks man." Said the guy taking it and walking away.  
  
"So tell me about your 'date from hell'."  
  
"Oh God don't remind me. He just talked about his remote controlled planes or something. It was unbelievable. I don't think he even knew what I did; all he did was talk about himself the whole time. He even invited me to go to this weird convention thing. Total freak." She said sipping her cocktail as Luka laughed.  
  
"Well I'm glad you find it funny."  
  
"I'm sorry but it is." He said muffling his laughs.  
  
"Cheap laughs at my expense huh?!" She said smirking.  
  
"You'd laugh if it were the other way round." He replied.  
  
"Has it ever happened?!" Susan asked interested.  
  
"No. I've only ever dated three women." He said seriously. "I married one, dated the other for a year, and the other." He trailed off.  
  
"What about her?" Susan asked as she drank more Margarita.  
  
"Well I haven't exactly dated her."  
  
"So what's the deal?"  
  
"I want to."  
  
"Oh." Replied Susan, sounding a little peeved.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Well I was just wondering why you were sitting here with me when you should be trying to get with this mysterious woman." Susan said frowning.  
  
"I am trying." Luka said leaning forward slightly.  
  
"Obviously not hard eno."  
  
Before she could finish her sentence he had leaned in and was kissing her. She didn't expect that at all. And it ended as soon as it had begun, or so it seemed. In fact, it had lasted some while, but time seemed to have travelled unbelievably fast. He leaned back to his original spot, and looked at Susan, her eyes were still closed, and he smiled to himself, she really was a picture.  
  
"There. I tried." Said Luka smiling as Susan eventually opened her eyes.  
  
"I didn't know you meant me." Susan said blushing.  
  
"Life presents many surprises." He replied smiling.  
  
"Sure does."  
  
"You don't mind?"  
  
"Mind what?"  
  
"I kissed you."  
  
"Well.I don't usually kiss on the first date. But I'll make an exception." She replied smiling.  
  
"Why thank you." He said finishing off his drink.  
  
"I had no idea." She said quietly.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"That you.and me." She said, avoiding what she wanted to say.  
  
"That I was attracted to you?" He said suddenly, which in turn made her turn a bright shade of red.  
  
"Well yeah."  
  
"I think it was when you told me it wasn't necessary for me to, what was it? 'Boof' a patient's Mother?" He said smirking.  
  
"'Boff'I think was the phrase I used."  
  
"Oh right sorry."  
  
"That long ago?!" She asked surprised.  
  
"You sound surprised."  
  
"I am!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Honestly?"  
  
"Honestly."  
  
"Guys like you, they never take much interest in me."  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"Well they generally go for the supermodels. And I'm anything but that."  
  
"Not necessarily, on both those comments." He replied sincerely.  
  
"Okay." She said, adjusting to this new territory.  
  
"I like you Susan. If you like me, I would love it if we could do something about it. And if not, well at least I tried right?"  
  
"That's true. Can I get back to you on that? Cos there's this other guy and.well it's complicated." She said, trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"Uh.sure. Whatever you want." He replied, feeling slightly upset.  
  
"I'm kidding Luka. I would be honoured to go out with you."  
  
"You would?"  
  
"Sure. You've got a nice car." She joked.  
  
"I see." He replied laughing. "So where do we go from here?"  
  
"Well I was thinking if we arrange the wedding for next week, then we have just under 7 days to book the church and invite the guests." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Very funny. I'm serious Susan. Where do I stand?"  
  
"I think.we should see how it goes." She replied casually.  
  
"Sounds good to me." He replied leaning in for another kiss, which she happily returned.  
  
Two hours later they were walking hand in hand towards Susan's apartment. They'd had a great evening, just talking, exchanging stories of past dates, former significant others, and tales of excitement and humour. The night was almost at an end, and Luka wished it wasn't, but he knew there would be other times.  
  
"This is me." She said as they stopped at the bottom of the steps.  
  
"Can I see you tomorrow night?" He asked.  
  
"Uh.tomorrow's not good for me. Me and Abby are going out."  
  
"Thursday?"  
  
"Sure. I'm off actually."  
  
"Me too. So it's a date?"  
  
"It's a date."  
  
He leaned in slowly and kissed her, moving his hands to her waist, and then one hand creeping up to her neck, then to her face, which was then joined by the other hand. They stood, motionless for some while, until Susan's cell began to ring. She ignored it and reached into her pocket as the kiss stopped momentarily, cancelling the call and returning to Luka's lips. Moments later, the kiss ended, and Susan was in her apartment. She walked over to her machine after throwing her keys on the side table and played the two messages she had.  
  
"Hi Susan? It's Alex. You know the guy from the park? Uh.I hope you don't mind me calling. Just rang to make sure you found your Father's alright, sounded pretty concerning. Call me back if you get the chance. My number's 555-3485. Speak to you.whenever. Bye."  
  
Susan sighed, poor guy. No chance.  
  
"Hey Susan it's Abby. Where the hell are you?! Call me!"  
  
Susan laughed, same old Abby. She picked up and receiver and dialled speed dial number one, and waited patiently for an answer.  
  
"Hey it's me. What?! I was out. That's MY business." She joked. "Oh come on can I have NO secrets?! Okay fine. I was out with Luka." She admitted. "How did you know?! Oh. Carter's not in huh? You wanna come over? Okay. See you in a while. Bye!"  
  
Susan hung up and chuckled to herself, same old Abby. She sat down with a coffee and switched on the TV, then she began thinking. Luka. Her and Luka. A day ago if somebody had said to her that she was going to have just got home from a date with Luka Kovac, she would have laughed in their face. She knew it was nothing serious, not yet anyway, but she had fun with him, surprisingly, and he was hot. Really hot. A smile spread across her face, and then she shook it off and sipped her coffee. Half an hour later, Abby arrived, which was a relief because all she could think about was Luka.  
  
"Hey!" Abby said as Susan opened the door.  
  
"Evening." Susan said closing the door behind her.  
  
"Is Luka still here?"  
  
"No. Why?"  
  
"Just asking." She trailed off smirking.  
  
"I don't fuck on a first date." Susan said smiling.  
  
"I didn't say you did!" Abby laughed.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"So how did it go?"  
  
"It was.it was good. Surprisingly. I had a good time."  
  
"Susan Lewis! You had a good time on a first date!"  
  
"Wow. How often can you say that?!"  
  
"Not very that's for sure. So I take it there'll be no more girl's club for a while?!" Abby said raising her eyebrows.  
  
"What are you talking about?! We're goin' out tomorrow night!" 


End file.
